Rooftop Gardens: Smart Living, Healthy Eating

When you think of healthy living, gardening, and family outdoor fun, the first place that comes to mind may not be Brooklyn, NY. But developers, non-profits, and families are working together to bringgardensintotheconcretewilds of the New York City borough. Ms. Yarittz Estevez, who moved into an apartment at Liberty when it opened just over a year ago, said the gardening opportunity was not what drew her to the complex. But she said she was quick to take advantage of it. “My daughter always wanted to do this, so that’s why I signed her up,” Ms. Estevez said. Last year, Liberty worked with the community group East New York Farms to assist residents with vegetable gardens. Urban families are getting innovative when it comes to healthy eating. Especially in low income neighborhoods, where it may be quite a distance to the nearest grocery, rooftop gardens are gaining in popularity. In addition to providing fresh herbs and vegetables to families who might not otherwise be able to eat them affordably, these gardens provide a chance for families to work together towards a healthier future. Paul Freitag, a managing director of development at the Jonathan Rose Companies, has been working with this idea since 2005 while marketing Via Verde, an affordable housing complex in the South Bronx. “There was this real focus on community health and, in particular, eating healthy,” Mr. Freitag said. That focus corresponded to the release of a study showing that many children in low-income city neighborhoods had no conception of what a farm was, Mr. Freitag said. “Those concerns made us think, if we’ve got these gardens on the roof, why don’t we really make them community gardens,” he said, “and make them opportunities where people can grow food, and even more importantly, where children and community members can see food being grown.” In places like Minneapolis, MN, New Orleans, LA, and Chicago, IL, community gardens are encouraging healthy lifestyles, positive changes, and natural solutions to the ever-increasing problems of health and nutrition in the U.S. As the economics of a neighborhood change, so does access to fresh groceries and produce. Known as “food deserts,” due to the lack of grocery stores, poorer neighborhoods routinely lose access to fresh groceries as store chains close aging facilities and instead choose to remodel or open new ones in more profitable neighborhoods. Community gardens (and rooftop ones in dense urban centers) can greatly affect the health-orientation of a community, as children learn more about how food grows, it’s nutritional value, and the personal value of creating something that’s good for you. Nothing quite beats the sense of accomplishment when you get to snack on your own crisp green beans, bell peppers or carrots. Of course, as a return to whole food and organic options becomes more popular, growing your own produce is catching on again for all sorts of people, including those who’d rather not take the time. In Denver, for example, a company called Produce Denver will go so far as to plant, maintain and even harvest your own garden for you! If you’ve already got people coming to mow the lawn and weed the flower beds, why not have them tend to the tomatoes? Regardless of your own objectives and orientation to small local gardens, the one true constant for everyone is simple: it’s good for you. Nothing processed grows in a garden, working on it is a great form of exercise, small gardens tend to use fewer chemicals, and no trucks need to transport anything. As Jenga Mwendo, who started Backyard Gardening Network upon returning to New Orleans' devastated 9th Ward District after Hurricane Katrina, understands what's at stake. “The elderly in this neighborhood, they remember,” she said. “When they were kids, people had gardens. It is important to have that connection with the land.” Gardening is a way of showing that your community has value-- it’s what you choose to do with it. Yarittz Estevez understands what's important, too. But her 8-year-old daughter Aaliyah may not. What she does know is that she's having a wonderful time, and the strawberries are delicious.